Saturday, October 24, 2009

I have a confession to make. Do you remember a couple of weeks ago, when I told you I was on a yarn and fabric diet? Well, I've bought some fabric! Oh dear..........

I went to a lovely Quilting Exhibition given by a local Quilt Group. It was Beartown's "Sewing through to Silver" exhibition. A celebration of 25 years as a group. A lovely exhibition held in the Town Hall in Congleton. The main hall was beautifully lit. It is a very high hall with lots of windows around the top where there is also a balcony. There were some exhibits by local school children upstairs on the balcony and from here there was a marvellous view of the rest of the exhibition. Sorry, I didn't take any photographs......

It all fell apart when I left the exhibition. I went past Dot's stall. Big mistake.

I met this delightful witch and remembered that soon it will be Halloween. I often have youngsters coming to my door as part of their Trick or Treat. So she just had to come home with me. Then I thought about lining her cloak, so the next two fabrics joined the collection.

After that, I just could not stop myself and the next few pieces added themselves to my feverish fingers, all the time hearing my husband's voice in my head saying "I told you so."

Some black and white for my collection of black and white fabrics; a vivid splash of colour for the linings of two boxes I am making; a delicate blue and white Royal Doulton print from Woodrow which I could not resist; a music inspired print for a bag I intend to make for one of my music groups (a Recorder group, and two choirs) to stop me getting my piles of music muddled up; and some batiks. What is it about batik that I just cannot leave the fabric alone?

Now I find that the two fabrics I had chosen for the cloak lining are not quite big enough and I will need a much bigger piece. How will I just confine myself to a single piece? I must be strong...

The two pieces of halloween fabric? I now have plans for two drawstring bags to hold the treats for my young visitiors when they arrive. Much more fun to reach in and help yourself than just being handed something.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

I've been away. On holiday. Short notice as usual, a last minute decision to go away for a few days. The cats were not impressed, but forgave us a soon as the next mealtime came around.

(Outside display of a small shop in Nice. The steps you can see were those of the alleyway leading up past this shop.)

(Picture taken while the ship was in Ajaccio, Corisica.)

An amazing experience. We went on a cruise in the Mediterranean. Its the end of the season there, and we were very lucky with the weather. Taking advantage of any trips offered, we visited Nice, Monaco and Monte Carlo, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Girona, Palma and a quick tour of Corsica!

(The gardens in front of the casino in Monte Carlo. I just loved the use of the mirror in the fountain. It is reflecting an image of the casino itself.)

This photo is the Duomo in Florence (Firenze).

I later found evidence of knitting in Firenze! I didn't see any yarn shops though.

Some delightful carving on the side of the Leaning tower of Pisa.

Blocks of marble at the port of Cittavecchia, From this port we went to visit Rome.

This marvellous marble floor is that of the beautiful Pantheon.

A wonderful mix of the ancient, the old and the new.

Our only bad weather arrived in Rome, when it rained. It didn't stop us having a really interesting tour around the city. There were also a couple of nights when it was a bit blowy at sea, but even that wasn't much. As I mentioned before, we were very lucky with the weather.

The following photo is of a gorgeous tile floor I saw as we passed through a narrow alleyway in Girona. The house was being renovated.

This amazing building is in Ajaccio. The Post Office occupies the ground floor.

The last few photos were taken as we walked around Palma, Majorca on our last day.

This building used to be the Grand Hotel. Its now a Library and Civic centre.

This is the floor inside the entrance of the Museum of Modern Art. The building can be found in one of the alleyways up in the old section of Palma. We found an interesting temporary exhibit of Picasso's drawings while we were there.

My last photo was of one of the private courtyards to be found in Palma. The gates were being rebuilt, and so we had this delightful scene peeped at through some railings.

We saw so much that I really couldn't explain it all to you. It's such a special experience to wake up every day knowing that the ship has arrived somewhere different. We shall try to return to Rome and Florence again one day - these places are so huge and there is so very much to see. Girona was quiet by comparison. A lovely place to see. Corsica was amazing. Now that is another place I would love to return to, perhaps to visit Sardinia as well.

As you can tell, I took loads of photographs, mostly following my own fascination for texture and colour. The colours were so bright and gorgeous.

Welcome!

An enthusiastic crafter - I knit, sew, make felt, and quilt. There are plenty of other things I have tried and continue to experiment with.

This year, I am intent on getting to grips with the garden too! My husband takes the lead, looking after the greenhouse. I'm the helper, and in charge of weeding. I get to do quite a lot of planting too.

We have a dog, Ella, who loves to join in with everything we do. Our cats have sadly now left us, but we have such happy memories of their time with us.

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Thanks for reading Crazy Daisy. I hope you have a wonderfully creative day.